Sunday School

Curriculum Overview

By Debbie Kolacki of
PRC - Practical Resources for Churches
www.prcli.org

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Introduction
With the internet and downloadable resources there are more Sunday school
curriculum choices than ever, so this booklet doesn’t cover every one that is out there.
Curricula such as The Story for Kids from Zondervan, which only cover a limited time
period, are not included. Curricula are constantly changing, so please let us know of
any updates to information in this booklet that you’re aware of.

Although there are short-term resources which are sometimes called curriculum, for the
most part we’ll be looking at material which is available for two or more years for
various age levels.

Specific prices for curricula aren’t included as these can be complicated depending on
whether a church orders all the bells and whistles that accompany the basic resources.
In addition, some curriculum is priced according to church size.

If you have any specific questions about curriculum, I would be happy to try and
answer them. Just e-mail me at debbie@prcli.org.

Printed curriculum
For children to become disciples of Jesus, it takes more than
head-learning. Besides teaching children about the Bible and
being a Christian, you’ll want your children and youth to
learn to pray and use other spiritual practices, worship with
the congregation, be involved in mission and service
projects, and practice faith at home with their families. Some
curricula may offer suggestions for incorporating these into
the faith life of your children or you may have to work on
these things yourself.

The term “curriculum” can be used in a broad sense to include everything involved in
the learning process, but when the term is used it’s usually referring to printed
curriculum which includes such things as teacher and student books as well as other
items such as posters, DVDs, music CDs, and take-home sheets. Printed materials may
also be offered online for download.

Almost every Sunday school publisher offers downloadable samples or video clips of
its curricula so you can get a good idea of how they work. Be sure to look at the content
of the curriculum and don’t get distracted by colorful artwork. Try to actually use a
sample lesson of the curriculum you’re considering or at least go through it and

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imagine using it with your class. Ask yourself if it would work in your church. For
instance, a curriculum may have a lot of fun activities but if they require breaking kids
into teams of 4 and you only have 3-5 students in your class then those activities won’t
work for you. Also, ask yourself what the children are actually learning from the lesson,
not just how much fun the activities are. Finally, does it emphasize the things that are
important in your church, such as loving and helping others, sharing the gospel, or
accepting Jesus as your savior?

Why purchase a curriculum?

Nowadays, many churches have tightened their belts and cut their budgets, and these
cuts often affect the amount allocated for Sunday school curriculum. If you’re a
Christian Ed Director or Sunday School Superintendent, you may have to make a case
for purchasing your curriculum.

There is so much free curriculum out there, that it’s tempting to just Google “free
Sunday school curriculum” and use what comes up. However, there is a wide range in
the quality of these curricula, and they may not line up with your church’s theology and
priorities. Many of the free curricula are evangelical and/or conservative in their
viewpoints, as opposed to a mainline viewpoint. The differences can be subtle and
different aspects of Christian faith will be emphasized. For instance, an evangelical
curriculum may have more of an emphasis on obeying God's rules, the one true God,
and personal salvation. A mainline or liberal curriculum might focus more on God's
love and forgiveness and showing love for others. It’s not that one position is better
than another, it’s just that someone sending their child to a church’s Sunday school
expects that they’ll be learning what that church teaches and emphasizes. So, if you’re
going with a free curriculum, you need to know your church’s basic beliefs and make
your choice based on those beliefs. I once had someone from an Episcopal Church who
wanted to use a VBS curriculum which taught that the world was created in seven
literal days. The theme was fun and there were some great activities, but the creationist
viewpoint is not compatible with what the Episcopal Church teaches about creation and
science.

A Sunday school looking to save money might

consider creating their own curriculum. However,
this is not as easy as some might think and, to do it
well, requires much time and effort. Let’s look at
some things that go into creating a Sunday school
curriculum.

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What goes into putting together a curriculum?

In an article by Karen DeBoer, one of the curriculum writers for Faith Alive Resources
(the publisher for the Christian Reformed Church of North America and the Reformed
Church in America), she describes what goes into creating the curriculum called Dwell.
• The editorial team along with a theologian spend an average of one hour writing
the Focus Statement and Faith Nurture Goals for every session.
• The Scope and Sequence (which stories are told and when they are told to which
age) is meticulously planned by a team of educators and theologians.
• The content and images in the curriculum are as inclusive as possible. Each
session is reviewed by a multicultural panel of reviewers along with a person
experienced in working with people with disabilities.
• Every children’s curriculum editor not only volunteers in children’s ministry in
their local church but also allocates time to stay informed on current research in
children’s spirituality, brain development, and trends in church education.
• Family faith nurture is a priority and the curriculum includes resources and
ideas to equip and encourage families to live their faith at home.
• Editorial staff regularly reviewed curriculum from other Christian publishers
and attended conferences from Orange, Willow Creek, the Association for
Presbyterian Church Educators, Faith Forward, Faith At Home, the Children and
Spirituality Conference, etc.

The 18-page document “Elements of a Core Curriculum for Children” is from Deep
Blue, the curriculum of the United Methodist Church. It includes a purpose statement
for a core curriculum and general objectives for children and the adults who work with
them. It identifies some of the specific knowledge, skills, relationships, experiences,
attitudes, and values children need in order to experience God’s grace and recognize
themselves as children of God. Age level learning and experiences are listed, along with
Bible stories and verses every child should experience, the language of faith children
should know, as well as images, symbols, and current discipleship issues that children
should be familiar with.

So, if you are creating your own curriculum, you should be considering these aspects of
curriculum as well.

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 Questions to ask

How many students? One room or multiple grades?

First you must determine how many students you’ll have and whether you’ll have them
all together or break them into different age groups.

What is our budget?

If your budget is limited, you’ll want to look at low-cost and no-cost options; sometimes
these require more work on your part. You might also decide to go with a particular
curriculum but opt out of buying all the separate components.

What are the needs of our teachers?

If you have inexperienced teachers, then ease-of-use will be an important consideration
for you. If they’re not very tech-savvy, then going with a downloadable curriculum may
mean that someone else may have to download and print the material for them.

Do we want to use a traditional curriculum, a lectionary curriculum, a rotation model,

or something else?
Deciding on what type of curriculum you want to go with is important. Each type has
its advantages and disadvantages, so you’ll have to weigh this in making a selection
that fits your unique Sunday school.

What are our learning goals?

Your learning goals will affect your curriculum selection. For instance, if you want your
students to have a strong understanding of both the Old and New Testaments, then you
probably won’t want to use a lectionary curriculum which focuses primarily on the
Gospels.

What is our church’s theological perspective?

It’s also important to be aware of your church’s theological perspective. For instance, a
curriculum from an evangelical publisher might emphasize the belief that only
Christians go to heaven and encourage your students to lead their friends to Christ.
Other curricula from more theologically liberal publishers might emphasize social
justice issues rather than evangelism.

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Age level groupings
Curriculum resources are usually for a particular age level; these groupings vary among
the different publishers. Some curricula include older age groups such as middle
school, high school, and adults. Some include younger age groups such as nursery,
toddlers, and preschool.

The age groupings may not always work in your Sunday school. For example, having
5th and 6th grade together may mean that you are combining elementary and middle
school students, if middle school starts at 6th grade in your part of the country. Many
curricula include flexible age groupings and terms such as “early elementary” and
“middle elementary” as opposed to specific grade levels.

We are also seeing a trend towards greater flexibility in age groups in many of the
curricula being offered, as well as more resources for intergenerational lessons.

Types of curriculum

There are many types of curriculum and some types overlap. Types of curriculum
include:
• One room or multi-graded
• Classroom/traditional/thematic
• Lectionary
• Large group/small group
• Montessori/worship-centered
• Rotation model/learning centers
• Whole church
• Self-created

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One room or multi-graded
If you have a very small Sunday school, you will probably
want to go with a one room or multi-graded curriculum.
This is also called multi-age or broadly graded curriculum.
It’s set up so that there are activities for children of all
different ages. There are usually activities to do as a group
as well as activities for specific ages. There may also be tips
for having children of different ages work together. Some
curricula that have resources for various age levels also
publish a multi-graded version of their curriculum.
Some multi-age curricula or curricula that include multi-age
components are:
• Celebrate Wonder All Ages
• Feasting on the Word
• Growing in Grace and Gratitude
• Shine: Living in God’s Light
• Seasons of the Spirit
• Spark All Kids
• Whirl All Kids

Classroom, traditional, thematic

The next type of curriculum is called classroom, traditional, or sometimes thematic.
Most often, Old Testament stories are covered in the fall and New Testament stories are
covered in the winter and spring. Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost stories are covered
at the appropriate times. Sometimes this type of curriculum is based on themes such as
“The Promised Land” or “The Reign of God.” It generally includes a Bible story with a
variety of reinforcement activities. This kind of curriculum may be dated or undated.

Lectionary
Lectionary curriculum follows the Revised Common Lectionary, the three-year cycle of
scripture readings which many churches follow. There are four readings for each
Sunday: an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a reading from one of the four gospels, and
another New Testament reading. There is some variation, but most lectionary curricula
base their lessons on the gospel readings. One advantage to this type of curriculum is
that the lessons usually coincide with the theme of the worship service, so if the
children go into the service there is consistency in what they’re learning, and the adults
and children are learning the same things. There are disadvantages to this type of
curriculum as well. The lectionary readings weren’t chosen with children in mind, so
sometimes the stories may not be very child friendly. Also, since the focus of this
curriculum is primarily on gospel stories, the children get very limited exposure to the

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Old Testament and the other parts of the New Testament. Sunday schools that decide
on a lectionary curriculum may want to use another curriculum for the fall that focuses
on the Old Testament and then switch to the lectionary curriculum for Advent and the
rest of the year. Some popular lectionary curricula are Seasons of the Spirit and Spark
Lectionary.

Narrative Lectionary
In 2010 the Narrative Lectionary was created by two professors from Luther Seminary.
It’s a four-year cycle of readings from September through May each year which begins
with Old Testament stories in the fall and then switches to the New Testament for the
rest of the year. Information about the Narrative Lectionary can be found on the
working preacher website. A downloadable curriculum called Living the Word which
follows the Narrative Lectionary is available from Spirit and Truth Publishing.

Large group/small group

Another type of curriculum is called large group, small group. All the children are
together for the first part of Sunday school; usually this is an energetic, worship focused
time with one leader. Then the children break into smaller groups for age-appropriate
activities.

This type of curriculum is a good choice when you have limited teachers or have people
that are willing to teach but don’t want to spend time preparing lessons. Deep Blue has
a Large Group/Small Group curriculum option for elementary age children; it is only
available as a download.

Montessori/worship-centered
The Montessori or worship-centered type of curriculum was originally geared towards
very young children but now is being used with older children, and even adults. It
focuses on experiential learning, using silence, wonder, and personal response. A
storyteller/teacher shares the Bible story using hands on material and then engages the
children in creative activities.

Godly Play and the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd are two examples of this type of
curriculum.

The Beulah Land curriculum comes from the Episcopal Church and is meant to be used
with the Beulah Land felt storytelling materials. It’s for children 3 to 10 and includes
hymns, wondering questions, art activities, and suggestions for imaginative and
dramatic play for 39 stories.

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Rotation model/learning centers
Rotation model curriculum, sometimes called Workshop Rotation Model©, is very
different from other curricula. Major Bible stories or themes are taught for 4-5 weeks
through multi-media workshops such as art, computers, video, food, and drama.
Groups of children rotate to a different workshop each week, which is led by the same
teacher. There are printed and downloadable curricula available, but many churches
create their own, using websites such as rotation.org. Churches that offer the rotation
model often have elaborately decorated and equipped rooms.

Learning centers can be done in a manner similar to the rotation model where separate
learning center areas are available for the children to visit. This can be done for the
entire Sunday school or for only one grade level where the learning centers are all in
one classroom.

Whole church
A whole church curriculum may be traditional or lectionary; materials are available for
all age groups and all study the same Bible stories each week. There may be additional
resources such as intergenerational worship services or workshops. Three whole church
curricula are Seasons of the Spirit, Best of Whole People of God Online, and Faith
Weaver Now.

Self-created
Many Sunday schools are starting to create their own curriculum, usually by using
online resources, which are often free. Curriculum can also be created using books and
other resources.

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Denominational curriculum
Consider looking at your denomination’s curriculum first as this will be the closest to
the theology of your church. If your denomination doesn’t publish its own curriculum,
they may suggest curricula on their website.

Mainline denominational curriculum

If you’re a mainline Protestant denomination and don’t want to use your own
denomination’s curriculum you should probably consider another mainline
denomination’s curriculum first.

Here’s a list of mainline denominations that publish Sunday school curriculum.

• Episcopal Church
• Lutheran Church ELCA
• Presbyterian Church USA
• Reformed Church of America
• United Methodist Church

Episcopal Church

ECC and ECY

The Episcopal Church stopped publishing its Episcopal Children’s Curriculum and
Episcopal Curriculum for Youth in printed form a few years ago but has made it
available for free as a digital download on the website of the Virginia Theological
Seminary. The Episcopal Curriculum for Children includes these four units for every
year of the curriculum: Old Testament, New Testament, Sacraments, and the Church.
Every year also has material on the major events of the Church Year, including All
Saints and Pentecost. The youth curriculum is thematic.

Godly Play
Godly Play is a Montessori/worship-centered curriculum which started as a resource
for younger children but is now used with all ages. It is available in printed and digital
forms.

Lesson Plans that Work

Lesson Plans that Work is a free, lectionary-based online curriculum with three levels:
younger children, older children, and adults.

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Seedlings
Seedlings is a four-year curriculum for small churches.

Weaving God’s Promises

Weaving God’s Promises is a three-year downloadable Episcopal curriculum available
in versions for children and middle-school youth.

Lutheran Church ELCA

Sparkhouse
Spark: Activate Faith
Sparkhouse is the ecumenical branch of 1517 Media (Augsburg Fortress). They offer
their Spark: Activate Faith curriculum in four versions: classroom, lectionary, rotation,
and All Kids (one room). Spark Bibles and Bible Storybooks are available and there is
also Spark Online, which allows you to set up a customized Spark website for your
church as well as access curriculum and lesson planning resources. There is also Spark
Family, a magazine with activities to help families fit faith into everyday life.

Holy Moly
Holy Moly is a curriculum for grades K-4 which includes animated Bible story videos.

Whirl
Whirl is a DVD-based curriculum for grades PreK-6 which is available in two versions:
classroom and lectionary. One of the goals of Whirl is to connect kids to church life.
Children learn about the church year and watch a video with animated characters who
model what it’s like for kids to go through the questions and challenges of living out
their faith. Whirl also has its own Bible and Bible storybook, as well as leaflets to use at
home as well as in Sunday school. There is also a version for one room Sunday schools.

Connect
Connect is for grades 5-6 and also uses videos which the publisher says blends “witty,
slap-stick humor with solid theology, in a way that’s accessible to preteens.”

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Presbyterian Church USA

Follow Me: Biblical Practices for Faithful Living

Follow Me is a thirty-six-unit curriculum written for people of all ages, with resources
for ages 3-5, ages 6-10, youth, and adult. It’s based on practices Jesus did and taught us
to do as faithful followers. The curriculum examines where these practices are found in
the Bible and how they have been used in Christian faith then and now. A
Congregational Guide is available which provides materials to connect the practice with
congregational worship and life. You can download a 96-page Follow Me Sample Book.

Growing in God’s Love

Growing in God’s Love: A Story Bible Curriculum is an ecumenical curriculum which
consists of 35 units and was inspired by Growing in God’s Love: A Story Bible. It is meant
to be a multiage curriculum for K-5 but can be used in intergenerational settings.

Growing in Grace & Gratitude

The Presbyterian Church USA offers a curriculum called Growing in Grace and
Gratitude which has options for children ages 3-5, 5-7, 8-10 and Multi-age (ages 5-10).
The Bible stories reveal God’s grace and the sessions “foster hospitality for all children,
including those with special needs.” Audio versions of the Bible stories are available,
and the curriculum is available in print or downloadable formats. There is also an
interactive e-book for families to use at home.

Faith Questions
These studies are based on faith questions asked by youth and are intended for older
youth. Movie, music, media, and other technologies are suggested throughout the
curriculum to supplement the lessons.

Feasting on the Word

Also, from the PCUSA publisher is Feasting on the Word, an ecumenical, downloadable
lectionary curriculum accompanied by printed color packs. It is also available in a
printed format. It is for Kindergarten children through adults and incorporates features
of the Feasting on the Word commentaries. It’s available as a Total Church Plan or as
Individual Age Levels.

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Reformed Church of America
Faith Alive Christian Resources is the publisher for the Reformed Church of America.
They offer three Sunday school curricula.

Dwell
Dwell is a story-based curriculum for preschool to Grade 8 which is available in printed
or digital forms.

Kid Connection
Kid Connection is for children in Kindergarten-Grade 6. It’s a four-year program and is
designed to meet the needs of small Sunday schools.

WE
Faith Alive also offers WE, an intergenerational experience which can be used alongside
any of Faith Alive children’s curricula. It offers resources for the whole church to share
a meal, experience part of God’s story through drama or other activities, and talk and
learn together around tables.

United Methodist Church/Cokesbury Kids

Celebrate Wonder
Celebrate Wonder is Cokesbury Kids’ quarterly curriculum. It honors the spiritual life
of children and includes experiential activities, spiritual practices, and reflection. As of
Fall 2021, it is only offered in an All-Ages format. The curriculum includes a leader
guide, reproducible kids book, and class pack. It’s available in printed and digital form.
A video DVD and music CD are also available. It replaces Cokesbury’s One Room
Sunday School.

Deep Blue Life

Deep Blue Life is a downloadable, customizable curriculum option which focuses on
living life faithfully for elementary-aged kids. The categories include Spiritual Practices,
Cloud of Witnesses, God Is With Us, and Faith and Culture. You can purchase
individual sessions, 13-session bundles, or the entire 52-session set.

Deep Blue Rotation Stations

Deep Blue Rotation Stations uses a rotation format where children alternate between
learnings stations each week. There are more than 50 unique units for children ages 5-12
which can be downloaded.

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United Church of Christ

The United Church of Christ (UCC) doesn’t publish a Sunday school curriculum.
However, a UCC pastor, Stacy Johnson Myers, and her church, the First Congregational
United Church of Christ of River Falls, Wisconsin, created Picture the Bible "to foster
biblical literacy and interpretation, while encouraging children to explore connections
between their lives and the biblical story. Picture the Bible is a set of 52 images
depicting 52 specific Bible stories that adapts to a wide variety of congregational
settings.” In addition, Student Curriculum pages are available in four formats: student
pages for grades 3-12, family pages, preschool pages, and adult pages.

Other denominational curriculum

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

Enduring Faith
Enduring Faith has children “learn all about their Savior, Jesus Christ, what their Savior
means for them, how to defend their faith, and how to teach the faith to others.” It is for
early childhood through adult.

Mennonite Church/Church of the Brethren

Shine: Living in God’s Light

The Mennonite Church and the Church of the Brethren offer Shine: Living in God’s
Light in graded resources for PreK-Kindergarten, Elementary, and Junior Youth which
encourage “imaginative, interactive biblical storytelling” as well as focusing on spiritual
practices and peacemaking. It is used by a number of other denominations including
the United Church of Christ. Wee Wonder is available for two-year-olds.

Current
Current is a new non-dated, digital curriculum. It includes sessions for preschoolers,
elementary-aged children, youth, and adults, as well as sessions for intergenerational
settings and worship resources. It is especially appropriate as a summer resource. The
theme for Summer 2021 is “Seeking Justice Together.” Each summer a new 13-week
quarter of Current will be published.

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Southern Baptist

Lifeway is the Southern Baptist publisher and offers three Bible studies for children
through adults called Bible Studies for Life, The Gospel Project, and Explore the Bible.

Nondenominational publishers
There are a number of nondenominational publishers which offer a wide variety of
curricula. It’s very important when selecting a curriculum from a nondenominational
publisher to make sure it’s compatible with your church’s theology. Sometimes it’s hard
to determine this if the publisher doesn’t directly state its theological position or uses
terms like “Bible-based” which can mean different things to different people. Look for a
statement of belief or something similar on the publisher’s website. This usually will
help you to determine their theological position.

David C. Cook

David C. Cook offers a number of curricula. The theology of David C. Cook is generally
conservative.

Accent is a theologically conservative curriculum using the KJV of the Bible and Baptist
doctrine.

The Action Bible Curriculum is based on The Action Bible and is for preteens.

Bible-in-Life is a traditional curriculum and is also offered in The Anglican Edition.

Echoes supports the African American church and community.

The Gospel Light Sunday school curriculum line was recently acquired by David C.
Cook.

HeartShaper takes toddlers through preteens through the Bible.

Reformation Press features comprehensive Scripture teaching with coverage of the

essential tenets of the Reformed faith.

Rio is a family-friendly digital curriculum.

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Scripture Press features conservative theology and doctrine and uses both the NIV and
KJV translations.

Tru emphasizes spiritual formation and family-empowered ministry

Cook’s Wesley curriculum has an emphasis on life application and evangelism and is
doctrinally distinctive for Wesleyan/Holiness churches.

Group

Group Publishing started in 1974 with the publication of Group magazine for those in
youth ministry. They now publish a number of nondenominational Sunday school
curricula which feature active learning. Their statement of belief is general enough to be
acceptable to most churches, but their theological position seems more evangelical than
mainline.

Be Bold is a curriculum for preteens which explores questions preteens may have about
faith and the Bible.

Dig In is for preschool through 6th grade and is an online curriculum with flexibility. It
is adaptable for One-Room, Age-Graded, and Large-Group/Small-Group classrooms.
Lessons are built online by dragging and dropping “Activity Blocks” into a Lesson
Builder. Lessons start with Opening, Core Bible, and Wrap-Up Activity Blocks already
added. Additional blocks to choose from include Music Video, Talk-About Video,
Object Lesson, Deeper Bible, High-Energy Game, Low-Energy Game, Craft, and Take-
Home. Pricing is based on average weekly attendance.

Faithweaver Now is for infant through adult and each age group explores the same
Scripture each week.

Grapple is for tweens; resources include DVDs and parent pages.

Group’s Hands-on Bible Curriculum uses unique games, snacks and crafts to help kids
learn about God. Gizmos to tell the story are included with the curriculum kits.

Play-n-Worship is a curriculum for toddlers and preschoolers.

Simply Loved has an option for Pre-K & K and one for Elementary (grades 1-4). It's sold
in quarterly kits and claims to simplify Sunday school. Group’s Bible Memory Buddies
from VBS are used in the curriculum. There are downloadable samples and a scope &
sequence on the website.

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Illustrated Ministry

Illustrated Ministry states on its website: “We celebrate the expansive image of God in
everyone, through open and inclusive language, diverse imagery, and progressive
theology.” Starting Fall 2021, they will be offering Mini Revolutions, a subscription-
based, digital curriculum based on the Revised Common Lectionary. You can see a
sample of it here.

Orange

Orange has three online, customizable curricula. First Look is for preschool aged
children and also includes resources for babies and toddlers. 252 Basics is for
elementary age children, and XP3 is for youth. There is an emphasis on encouraging
parents to teach their children about faith and character at home. Each of the three
curricula is sold through an annual license that is based on the number of children in
your Sunday school. It originated at Andy Stanley’s North Point Community Church,
an evangelical megachurch.

ProgressiveChristianity.org

A Joyful Path
A Joyful Path is referred to as a behavior-over-belief curriculum. It uses Bible stories
along with other wisdom stories to help children learn how to follow the path of Jesus
in today’s world. The curriculum is for children ages 6-10 and currently two years are
available although a third year is expected to be added soon. It is available on DVD or
as a digital download.

Teen Text
Progressive Christianity also offers curriculum for Middle School and High School
students called Teen Text. It is delivered electronically 12 times a year.

Renovare

Renovaré USA is “a Christian nonprofit that models, resources, and advocates fullness
of life with God experienced, by grace, through the spiritual practices of Jesus and of
the historical Church.” They offer a curriculum for children PreK-6th Grade called Life
with God which emphasizes spiritual practices.

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Woodlake Publishing

Woodlake Publishing states that their mission is to “retrieve, reclaim, and renew the
Christian tradition of living radical and inclusive love.” Their values statement
emphasizes “a spirituality of transformation rather than adherence to doctrine or
belief.”

Seasons of the Spirit is one inclusive program for the whole congregation based on the
Revised Common Lectionary. SeasonsENCORE has age-level resources for ages 3
through adult. SeasonsFUSION combines worship materials for clergy and other
worship leaders with Christian Education materials that can be used with the entire
congregation. Recently SeasonsFUSION started offering suggestions for setting up
interactive stations to set up around the worship space. Congregations can use these for
intergenerational activities after the worship service. You have the option of ordering
the printed materials or accessing them on the web. This is a popular curriculum with
many churches but tends to be expensive if you order all the components.

Whole People of God Online is an online lectionary curriculum. It includes weekly age-
level lessons as well as worship resources for leaders. It also includes a set of colored
pictures. Churches purchase an annual license based on average weekly worship
attendance. There are intergenerational materials for certain Sundays of the church year
so using this curriculum requires Sunday school to work with the worship planners.

Middle and high school curriculum suggestions

Some of the curricula already mentioned have components for youth but you might
want to use something else if these aren’t appropriate for your Sunday school.

Abingdon Press

Abingdon Press is connected to the United Methodist Church and offers a number of
products for youth which can be used as curriculum.

Canvas is for high school teens and explores the theological beliefs and foundational
concepts of the faith. In five four-week studies, students learn from history, tradition,
and the Bible. The studies are designed for students to lead the lessons themselves.

Fathom offers 18 4-session studies that explore the Bible book to book.

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Groove is a Bible study series for teens that “invites teens to learn the essentials of their
faith, own their story, and engage the world in serving Jesus.” Each topical study has
four sessions and up to 48 weeks are available.

Linc is a downloadable, timely resource to help teens examine relevant faith and life
issues using the latest music, movies, news, and current events.

Spice Rack is a downloadable Bible curriculum for middle school and high school
students.

Group/Simply Youth Ministry

You can also look on websites such as Group Publishing for resources that can be
adapted for Sunday school. The Simply Youth Ministry resources are now available
through Group.

Sparkhouse

Sparkhouse, the ecumenical branch of Augsburg Fortress, the Lutheran ELCA

publisher, offers some youth resources which can be used in Sunday school.

Colaborate: Bible Study is based on problem-based learning which allows students to

discover for themselves the richness of the Old and New Testaments.

Echo the Story helps youth experience the biblical narrative through storytelling,
creative reflection, and dialogue. It’s available in both 12-session and 36-session
versions and includes DVDs, leader guides, and student sketch journals.

Their re:form series of products includes the original re:form program of 40 lessons
which uses creative and sometimes funny videos to tackle questions about the Bible,
creed, disciples, Jesus, other beliefs, and hot topics. Two of the questions from the
program are “Who wrote the Bible, God or humans?” and “Can I be a Christian without
going to church?” Re:form Ancestors also uses fun videos to help youth get to know
personalities from the Old and New Testaments. Re:form Traditions has versions for
the Methodist, Lutheran, and Reformed traditions which explain their history, beliefs,
and practices to help youth discover how their faith tradition came to be. Each version
of re:form Traditions has four sessions. All the re:form curricula include DVDs, a
leader’s guide and a student anti-workbook.

T.B.D. stands for Think. Believe. Do. There are five four-week topical group studies
designed for Grades 9-12.

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Other suggestions for middle and high school
curriculum
Faith Lens is a free, downloadable weekly Bible study for youth and young adults
which links a current news story with scripture texts. It comes from the Lutheran
Church ELCA.

Generation Why is published by Brethren Press and is a series of Bible-based

explorations of issues facing youth.

Journey to Adulthood (J2A) is available from Church Publishing of the Episcopal

Church. It is an “online, downloadable youth ministry program of spiritual formation
for 6th-12th grades centered on inclusive, relational ministry. It uses Bible study, prayer,
rites of passage, and service projects. There are three modules included in the program:
Rite 13, J2A, and 4Ward, each with lessons organized around Self, Society, and
Spirituality.”

Making It Real & Relevant is published by LeaderResources, a publisher with Episcopal

roots. It’s a multimedia, topical Bible study for 7th-12th graders. It’s lectionary based and
downloadable by annual subscription. A topical version is called God Talks!

Current trends in curriculum

Video use
Many current trends in curriculum show the impact of technology, such as the use of
videos in the classroom as well as for teacher training. These can be on DVDs or live
streamed from the web.

Additional material on websites, apps

We also see some companies offering additional material for teachers, parents, and
students on their websites or through apps for mobile devices.

Downloadable and reproducible material

Another big change is the availability of material that is downloadable and
reproducible. We even have curricula that are no longer being printed which have been
converted to digital form so they can still be offered, either free or for a fee.

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Change in fees to annual license, etc.
We are seeing more material being offered for an annual or license fee, especially for
online materials; often the fee is based on worship attendance or the number of
students.

Intergenerational materials
There is also an increased availability of materials for intergenerational use which
connect Sunday school with the rest of the congregation.

Resources for family faith formation

We also see more material which can be used for families to continue learning together
at home, due to a growing awareness that Sunday schools need to partner with families
in their children’s faith formation.

Revised October 2021

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